MICHIGAN ROLL CALL  New bills in Michigan Legislature

Monday

Aug 27, 2012 at 12:01 AMAug 27, 2012 at 4:34 PM

The House and Senate are in the midst of a summer break, so this report contains several newly introduced bills of interest.

Senate Bill 1224: Mandates employer grant leave for parent school events. Introduced by Sen. Bert Johnson (D), to mandate that employers must grant an employee up to 10 hours of unpaid leave per child, per academic year to attend academic activities.

The House and Senate are in the midst of a summer break, so this report contains several newly introduced bills of interest.

Senate Bill 1224: Mandates employer grant leave for parent school events. Introduced by Sen. Bert Johnson (D), to mandate that employers must grant an employee up to 10 hours of unpaid leave per child, per academic year to attend academic activities.

Senate Bill 1231: Mandates motorist turn on dome light when stopped at night. Introduced by Sen. Judy Emmons (R), to require a motorist stopped by police at night to turn on vehicle’s interior lights, subject to a $100 fine.

Senate Bill 1237: Creates government database of residents’ health care use Introduced by Sen. Jim Marleau (R), to create a government “medical care database” to compile statewide data from health insurance companies and HMOs on the cost of all health care services provided in the state. This would not include personal information but would include patient demographic characteristics, diagnoses, health care services provided, the amounts charged and paid, medications prescribed, and more.

House Bill 5761: Revises cash welfare time limits. Introduced by Rep. John Olumba (D), to eliminate a current cap of 48 months on the time a person can collect cash welfare benefits (which under current law has many exceptions).

House Bill 5768: Prohibits Michigan National Guard from executing federal “indefinite detention.” Introduced by Rep. Tom McMillin (R), to prohibit members of the Michigan National Guard or other state and local government officials from helping to execute a recent federal law (”NDAA”) giving the current or a future president the power to order the indefinite detention of persons arrested on U.S. soil, without charge or trial.

House Bill 5769: Gives savings account money to low income workers. Introduced by Rep. Jim Ananich (D), to give up to $150 in matching grants to an Earned Income Tax Credit recipient who places at least $50 in a “qualified savings account.” The bill would also increase the state EITC from 6 percent to 20 percent of the federal EITC.

House Bill 5770: Authorizes state grants to certain doctors. Introduced by Rep. Jim Ananich (D), to pay the full cost of medical school for a student who agrees to provide primary care services for three years in an area with a doctor shortage. Also, to distribute up to $80,000 in student loan repayment money to a health care professional for providing services in such an area, depending on how long the person stays there.

House Bill 5774: Imposes home health care agency licensure mandate. Introduced by Rep. Kurt Heise (R), to impose a new licensure mandate on agencies that offer “skilled home health services or personal care services” to a consumer in the person’s home or residence. The bill would also mandate that home care placement agencies that refer providers of these services must register with the Department of Community Health.

House Bill 5776: Requires parents permission to place student with “ineffective” teacher. Introduced by Rep. Maureen Stapleton (D), to require a public school district to get the written consent of a parent or guardian before placing a child in a classroom with a teacher who is rated “ineffective” on his or her most recent year-end evaluation.

— MichiganVotes.org, a free, non-partisan website created by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy tracking every bill and vote in the Michigan House and Senate.

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